In the story, it looks like NASE has sent a probe to other planets within our solar system, and “didn’t find any signs of life.” However, we see the Mars rover has been vandalized. That would be a pretty big sign of life, right there. Clearly Gerty’s folks are trying to keep something from the kids. We’ll come back to this later in the chapter.

In the real world, NASA has sent a rover (called “CURIOSITY”) to Mars that is currently exploring. They have an incredible website compiling a lot of their findings, as well as photos and video: http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/home/

I’ve always been fascinated by space, and I think my own curiosity rubs off in my writing of Gerty’s character sometimes. While Albert’s curiosity is more terrestrial (and by that, I mean he’s curious about things on our planet). They’re kind of opposites in this regard. But their mutual curiosity about learning, exploring, and adventure brings them together.

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